Category Archives: Cold War

In contrast to the German army during the Second World War, the Soviet army did not have specialised recovery vehicles or tactics for using them. They started to experiment with their use at the end of the war, initially using locally-modified versions of existing vehicles, often turretless T-34s. After the war, they began producing dedicated vehicles with specialised equipment. One of these was the BREM-1, based on the chassis of the T-72 main battle tank.

BREM-1

Introduced in 1984, the BREM-1 had a crew of three (driver,
commander, and mechanic), all of whom were provided with day and
night-vision equipment. It had a top road speed of 60km/hour, a road
range of 700km, and an off-road range of 500km. Towing another tank
significantly reduced the range, to just 220km on roads. Like the
main battle tank on whose chassis it was based, it had long-range
fuel drums at the rear of the vehicle, which could be jettisoned if
needed. An unditching beam was mounted underneath the external fuel
drums. A large-diameter snorkel was carried on the rear right of the
vehicle, which could be used for deep wading at depths of up to 5m.

A crane was fitted on the left side of the vehicle. This had a
lift capacity of 19 tonnes when extended up to 2m, or 3 tonnes at the
maximum extension of 4.4m. The crane was powered hydraulically,
normally using power from the vehicle’s main engine to run the pump.
If the main engine was not running, the vehicle batteries could power
the crane via an electrical pump. The crane was controlled from an
elevated position, with a full set of controls. The crane turntable
could be locked, and the vehicle could travel over level ground with
a load suspended from the crane. When in transit, the crane was
folded down along the side of the vehicle and secured in place with a
clamp.

A full set of electric welding equipment, including a working
position, was carried in a hermetically-sealed panel over the left
track. Special tools were carried in portable containers on a load
platform. This load platform was located at the centre of the roof,
and was 1.7m long and 1.4m wide. It had removable side panels, and
could carry a load of up to 1.5 tonnes.

The BREM-1 had two winches, a plough, a bulldozer blade, and
towing equipment. The mechanical main winch had a 200m cable and a
basic capacity of 25 tonnes. Snatch blocks could be used to increase
this capacity to 100 tonnes. The winch was normally used at the
front, with the bulldozer blade to anchor the vehicle, but it could
also be used to the rear for self-recovery.

The bulldozer blade was 3.1m wide and hydraulically driven, using
controls at the driver’s station. A BREM-1 could use this blade to
create an MBT firing position in 12 to 20 minutes, depending on the
state of the soil.

For towing, the vehicle had a pair of 1.68m towing rods, with internal shock absorbers, and a pair of 5.5m towlines. Loads of up to 50 tonnes could be towed for prolonged periods, at the cost of greatly increased fuel consumption.

Other equipment included a 30-tonne capacity hydraulic jack,
R-123U radio, tank telephone system, navigation system, and NBC
protection. Armour protection was the same as the T-72 MBT, although
the only armament was a 12.7mm NSVT machine gun with 840 rounds of
ammunition. Four smoke-grenade dischargers were sometimes fitted, and
all vehicles could create a smokescreen by injecting diesel fuel into
the exhaust manifold.

A ‘might have been’ M-16 Rifle development

The M16 rifle had been a mainstay of the US infantryman for the best part of three decades. Developed from the Armalite AR-15 – itself in turn a redevelopment of the Armalite AR-10. Whilst a good rifle for its day, the normal infantry squad was always looking for more firepower, but from a lighter weapon. With this in mind, the designer of the AR-10, Eugene Stoner, took the idea of giving his new rifle more firepower from a chute feed system.

The chute feed system was not a new concept. It had been used on the .50 calibre waist gunner positions of the B-17 Flying Fortress during WWII. It was primarily designed for heavy machine guns rather than lighter squad weapons like the .303 calibre Browning then in use. This weapon was a standard belt fed machine gun but Stoner thought if his new rifle could give more firepower from its lighter weight, he would be onto a winner. He therefore set about redeveloping his own design from a standard box feed rifle, into a chute feed squad weapon. An adaptor was designed to fit on to the side of the AR-10, along with a bi-pod for greater stability when in use. The bullets would be fed down the chute from a magazine box carried on the back of the soldier.

Extensive testing with various sizes of cartridge, ranging from .223 inch (5.56mm) to 7.62mm (0.3 inch) proved promising, but the US Army didn’t seem interested and the idea fizzled out. Undeterred by this lack of interest Stoner moved to firstly to Colt and then onto Cadillac Gage, where he designed a modular weapons system, designated the Stoner 63. This system was configured to be a standard automatic rifle but, with slight changes, could be transformed into a light machine gun, a medium machine gun, or a solenoid-fired fixed machine gun for use on vehicles.

Some ideas for wargamers and modellers

As I can find no data regarding rates of fire or wear and tear on the barrel from sustained use, I suggest you use data based upon the Browning .303, if you wish to incorporate this weapon into your armies. As for modelling this weapon in the usual 10, 20 and 25mm ‘scales’, it should be fairly easy to convert a standard M16 armed figure. As you can see from the photos a simple bi-pod made from a folded paperclip glued to the front of the rifle should suffice. The back-pack ammunition box could be made from a converted Browning .303 ammunition box, but the chute feed system might prove a bit more tricky. One suggestion is to use an elastic band, cut to length and sprayed either with a primer, or dipped in diluted white glue, to add some strength. Another suggestion would be to use a laminate of wine bottle type foil caps and bend until you get the desired curves for the chute. Whichever way you do it, I hope this article has given you a new idea for a squad based weapon for use in your M16 armed forces.

The T-12 was developed as a replacement for the D-48 85mm anti-tank gun, and was the first smoothbore anti-tank gun to enter service, in 1961. The decision to adopt a smoothbore barrel led to improved HEAT performance, higher muzzle velocity, and longer barrel life than an equivalent rifled barrel. The kinetic energy penetrator was very long and thin, further improving penetration.

Production of an improved version, the MT-12 (also known to NATO as the T-12A), began in 1970. This had a new improved carriage, which was less prone to turning over whilst being towed. Both models had sights for indirect fire and direct fire, but indirect fire range was limited by the maximum elevation of only 20º. The T-12 was normally towed by a lorry, the MT-12 by an MT-LB.

T-12 being towed

The crew of six consisted of commander, towing vehicle driver, gunlayer, loader, and two ammunition numbers. The barrel had a perforated muzzle brake, and was clamped to the trails when in transit. The loader had to open the breech manually to load the first round, after which a semi-automatic loading system would open and close the breech, so that the loader only had to load shells. Image intensifier night sights were fitted. A shield gave the crew some protection from small arms fire and shell splinters.

The T-12 and MT-12 both fired APFSDS, HEAT, and HE ammunition. The APFSDS round had penetration of 230mm at 500m, 140mm at 3,000m. The HEAT round could penetrate 350mm. From 1981, the MT-12 was able to fire the new AT-10 Stabber laser beam-riding ATGM, which had a maximum range of 4,000m and penetration of 550mm. The laser designator was mounted on a tripod to one side of the gun.

MT-12 firing

The MT-12 was the last towed Soviet anti-tank gun to enter production. Development began of a 125mm towed gun, the 2A45 Sprut, but this never entered production.